If it doesn't taste good, why eat it?

One recent weekend Neil and I were invited to a small gathering where the theme of the night was soup. The basic idea being that the hostess makes two or three varieties of soup to choose from, someone brings bread, someone else brings handheld nibbles, and we eat, drink, and are merry, then run outside into the cold New England evening to watch the annual Torchlight Parade (several towns trim their fire trucks out in Christmas lights and parade down the main thoroughfare).

Since bread had been accounted for, as had corn muffins, southern style red beans & rice, and three varieties of soup, I decided to bring cookies. While at lunch that afternoon Neil commented “I wish that there were such a thing as carrot cake cookies.” and it was decided that was what we’d make. What I did to create this recipe was look at existing carrot cake cookie recipes, then cross some of my favorite elements with our family recipe for carrot cake which includes the likes of shredded coconut and fresh pineapple. The result was a chewy cookie with a creamy and not-too-sweet filling that was very well received by party-goers.

Ingredients

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)

1/2 cup raisins (I like to use a variety: Thompson, red flame, and golden)

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup fresh pineapple, diced (see note if using canned pineapple)

1/8 cup coconut flour

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup honey

zest of 1/2 a lemon

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

About the author

I buy fresh, local, organic ingredients and make our meals (and snacks) from scratch. Knowing what is in the foods that we eat is important to me because it's what our bodies are composed of. Your life literally depends on it.